10E2145: Deere - Antler Helmet

In the 70s until early 80s John Deere created and sold a line of snowmobiles, (and sold branded winter apparel). Also sold helmets - not sure of provenance of those. Anyway, their slogan "Nothing Runs Like a Deere" came out of that time of snowmobiling.

This antler helmet was one of a handful of designs they sold and is pretty bonkers. Others were green or yellow, or green and yellow... or black w/ a sort of rainbow stripe - some full face, but most 3/4 as here. I have never been able to track down much about who designed the graphic here - the pics from ebay. These pop up now and again. Lots more at JDsleds.com. Enjoy.

In homage to that old helmet, a few years ago I had the above knit made by a lady out in Deere country. One-off. #vault

10E2144: Tim Hayward - Food DIY

Mentioned this guy Tim Hayward a few times before (start here); he is a British food writer/do-er, and along with his wife has also revitalized an old bakery in Cambridge, Eng. called Fitzbillies. Brill'.

Anyhow - coming this Summer is a collection of his work on home-everything... Make your own butter and cheese, sloe gin, suet pudding and potted lobster. How to smoke, and cure fish and meats, air-dry bresaola and boerwoers. Pickle fish, game and vegetables. How to spit-roast a whole lamb, make a clam bake in a wheelbarrow... [like the sound of that -ed.] etc. On pre-order now.

Paging Rohan Anderson...

10E2143: Husqvarna

Chainsaws and dirt bikes. Thick lines. Orange. Covers a lot of bases right there.

10E2142: Tom Waits by Jesse Dylan

Tom Waits by Jesse Dylan.

More Tom in denim here.

10E2141: Shovels & Rope - Johnny 99

Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent are Shovels & Rope. Here releasing a 7" single [yes! -ed.] of Springsteeens' Johnny 99, and Waits' Bad As Me on the b-side. $6 from Third Man Records. Sloppy-tonk? Nice.



If you have trouble with the newer HTML5 Soundcloud - try the old version here.

10E2140: Filson Double Tin Boot Pant

Winter 2013/14 toboggan uniform... 2 layers of Filson 100% oil finish Tin Cloth now with 14" brass zippers at the leg to go over your snow boots. 22 oz. twill at cuffs. "Dear Santa..."  $245 via Filson.

10E2139: Filson x Harris Tweed

File under his'n'hers? Filson has blessed a few more of its offering with a touch of Harris Tweed; here. Plus a laptop sleeve and shell bag. Herringbone looks great next to their black twill.

10E2138: The Gardner Heist - 23 years Ago

Via the Boston Globe "In a stunning development, federal law enforcement officials said today they had identified the people who stole $500 million worth of masterworks from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990. [on March 18... 23 years ago to the day -ed.]"

I take a class right next to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (ISGM) in the Fenway (the main thoroughfare through The Fens - the area not named after Fenway Park, rather the other way around), and it is a fascinating place. And the new glassed-in cube/concert hall is impressive as hell. Anyhow, this art theft looms in the Boston media, though perhaps not as much with the outer residents... Great quick video here giving a potted history of the crime.

The art theft has almost spawned a cottage industry in Boston - at least one movie (Stolen) and 2 major books have been written about it (The Gardner Heist, and The Art Forger).  The ISGM discusses the mystery on their site and as above,  in keeping w/ their directive, they have still not altered the rooms - thus the empty frames remain in place. The $5M reward for return of the works is still available.

Just today the FBI released a dedicated webspace to the crime and a renewed appeal for information; fbi.gov/gardner

10E2137: Son Of A Sailor | Opinels

Handpainted Opinel knives from Son of A Sailor in Austin, TX. Yes, reminiscent of a certain axe-handle painting crew maybe, but well played. Was never wild on the colored wood version of Opinel knives - like these though.

10E2136: Johnny Cupcakes Redesign

Local retailer Johnny Cupcakes launched a redesigned website last night, and 2 comments on their UX jump out. 

1) Kudos on the inventory/availability icon. It is neat as anything; thick-lined and grabs you.  

2) Slightly surprised that the site is wysiwyg and not responsive atall. Does not appear to have width breaks for mobile either. Am I wrong on this? On the other hand you could say this shows a level of trust and confidence in their customers, to know how to pinch/zoom/navigate, etc.

Further UX reading: Burton Search Window

10E2135: Union Square Donuts

Maple glazed w/ crumbled bacon. Keep going? Chocolate chipotle, orange ginger cream, hibiscus cherry, honey almond, and dulce de leche cinnamon rolls. If you live in the Somerville/Med/Cam/Bos area you may have heard about Heather Schmidt and her cookery classes - and now an enterprise called Union Square Donuts - again shopfronting out of 201 Somerville Ave (plenty of parking at Target!), in Union Square, Somerville, MA. Contact info here.

The flavor combos get the press but honestly dough of the donut itself is amazing. Yeasted, so puffy. Hey I love Verna's cake style donuts too... but the dough is so tasty. Huge congrats to Heather and her crew for creating something out of nothing - and damn good. BTW show your Somerville Library card during March [2013] and you get free coffee w/ your donut. Bam!

Photo by Max Wastler of  AllPlaidout from our recent visit.
Two hander. Are you kidding me here! Love the maple glaze. Mmmmm

Ok, these guys might not be the toughest donut-critics... but for sure they devoured theirs. 

10E2134: Burton Birds

Not for everyone for sure, but Spring 2013 Burton Metalhead pack using a neato birdy print. #Mrs10e

10E2133: Seated Lincoln On Penny Reverse

I had no idea about this. The kid picked up a penny off the sidewalk and said in a distracted voice "oh you can see the statue. See!". Young eyes, wow. He is always scanning the ground for change... wonder where he got that from.

"Lincoln Memorial cent (1959–2008) 

On February 12, 1959, a revised reverse design was introduced as part of the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's birth. No formal competition was held. Frank Gasparro, then Assistant Engraver at the Philadelphia Mint, prepared the winning entry, selected from a group of 23 models that the engraving staff at the Mint had been asked to present for consideration. Again, only the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury was necessary to make the change because the design had been in use for more than the required 25 years. 

The imposing marble Lincoln Memorial provides the central motif, with the legends E Pluribus Unum and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA completing the design, together with the denomination. The initials "FG" appear on the right, near the shrubbery. In his treatise Theory and Practise of Numismatic Design, Steve Crooks states that because the Lincoln Memorial is shown in sufficient detail to discern the statue of Lincoln on the reverse, Abraham Lincoln was the only person to be depicted on both the obverse and reverse of the same United States coin until the release of the New Jersey state quarter in 1999, which depicts George Washington crossing the Delaware River on the reverse." via wikipedia

10E2132: 12 Hours On Wood Etiquette From Norway

Did you hear about this 12-hour doc shown in Norway last week on wood splitting/stacking/burning etiquette and techniques. How it got people all fired up. Really split the audience - over bark-side facing questions. I'd like to log a complaint about the horrible puns in the ensuing media coverage...

That sound of dry logs clattering over each other is so nostalgic... You can watch a 2-hour version of the recent broadcast here; this does not include the 8-hour fireplace shot that some felt a little excessive... Music, folklore and a lot of Husqvarna orange involved. Meditative I'd say.

The program was inspired by the book “Solid Wood: All About Chopping, Drying and Stacking Wood — and the Soul of Wood-Burning” - watch this profile of the author Lars Mytting.

10E2131: Compliments Cost Nothing 2

Kerim Bey (Pedro Armendariz): The game with the Russians is played a little differently here.

James Bond (Sean Connery): So your chauffeur informed me. He is a rather intelligent young man by the way.

Connery in Istanbul, in From Russia With Love

Have you ever been caught out by a disparaging remark? Course you have. Ever been let down by giving an honest compliment? Never. And you will be glad you did. Not talking about crawling here, I mean a straight-up compliment.  Go tell her/him/kid-down-the-street you have noticed how hard they have been working or what a good job they are doing (if they are).

Further reading: Compliments Cost Nothing

10E2130: Buffalo "Snoopy"

Genuine Woolrich wool outer w/ fleece lining. Made in USA. $24 from New York Hat Co. Would make a great winter helmet liner. #woodsy

10E2129: Rupert Rising Breads - via N'East Style

A bunch of us had the good fortune to visit the kitchen/oven of Rupert Rising Breads in West Rupert VT a few weeks back - and N'EastStyle wrote about it. Fascinating visit. Did you know that the canvas between the loaves has to be dried thoroughly or else, like bales of hay, respiration (the burning of plant sugars in the flour to produce energy ) continues? Baker Jed Mayer confirmed he has felt heat in canvas rolled but not hung up to dry overnight. There are anecdotal stories of bakeries burning down in this way.

The oven is wood fired, that is the wood is burning inside the oven till it reaches 600ºF - then cleaned out and baking begins - but you can read it all the article here.

10E2128: That Washed Up Look 2013

On March 17th the 5th (right?) running of the Washed Up Cup will begin; that is a banked slalom event held at Stratton to evoke the spirit of US Open's past. It is part of a larger US Open of Snowboarding replacement christened the VT Open; Further reading. 12' halfpipe, retro gear, St. Paddy's day... it is all coming back.

I'm not within a nine iron of the low end of the totem pole here... good times though. VT is thick with retired proriders and a bunch of them come out for this Sunday race day. Men and women compete against the clock - you can read my report from 2009 here.

Not a lot of technical gear or nylon fibers with this crowd. Wear yer vest on the outside to carry more beer for more pockets. A few guys simply step off the skidder and walk  over to compete. A chance for spring riding then holding up mahogany ridge.

Those Sabbath boots were nuts though...

10E2127: Scottish Poetry Library

Photo via Janis Freegrad

The Scottish Poetry Library was designed by Edinburgh architects Malcom Fraser and completed in 1999. Nice view of Arthur's Seat from here as well.

"The building itself is framed with glass and oak infill panels and sliding shutters to close it up at night... 

A simple monopitch roof with big circular skylights slopes up from the horizontal datum struck by the high level windows above the masonry wall, towards the sun and the view. This allows a mezzanine to serve as a members' reading room, periodicals area and children's reading area, with the stacks sliding aside to form an internal performance space. " - via Malcolm Fraser Architects

Photo via SPL facebook 

It is slightly hidden, off a sidestreet from the Royal Mile (5 Crichton's Close, Canongate) but well worth a visit - they focus on contemporary poetry but of course feature works by Scotland's son Robert Burns and others from around the world. Looks like they know how to throw a party too...